QCA Board and executive team

As required under the Queensland Competition Authority Act 1997, the QCA always has at least three members. Each member is appointed for a maximum term of five years.

The Governor in Council select and appoint members with a blend of skills and expertise in:

  • commerce
  • economics
  • the interests of consumers
  • government businesses

QCA Board


Professor Flavio Menezes

Chair

BEc (UERJ), Master of Economics (FGV/EPGE), PhD (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Flavio Menezes is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at The University of Queensland (UQ). He is a former president of the Economic Society of Australia (Queensland) and was a member of the advisory board of the federal government’s Deregulation Taskforce and an elected member of The University of Queensland Academic Board and its Standing Committee.

He is a former Head of School of Economics at UQ, the chair of the Research Evaluation Committee for Economics and Commerce, Excellence of Research in Australia (ERA) in 2018, and a member of the same committee for ERA in 2015.

Professor Menezes is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Public Economic Theory and co-editor of the Economic Record. He has published extensively on the economics of auctions, competition and regulatory economics, industrial organisation and market design.

Professor Menezes’ engagement with industry and government is significant. His  experience includes advising the federal government, the AEMC, the ACCC, IPART, and the ACT and Victorian governments on market design issues in regulatory  environments. He has also provided economic advice to several private and public organisations on competition and regulatory issues in defence, fisheries, gambling, electricity, oil and gas, banking, health, aged care, disability care, transport, ports, water and telecommunications.

Madeline Brennan KC

Deputy Chair

BA (UQ) LLB (QUT) Dip Ed (Canberra)

Madeline is a barrister with 25 years’ experience as a member of the Queensland bar, as junior counsel (1996–2015) and senior counsel (November 2015). In 2000, she was a founding member of Roma Mitchell Chambers in Brisbane.

Madeline has had a broad practice, inclusive of consumer protection law, general civil litigation, general administrative law and family law.

Madeline’s practice currently includes appellate and trial advocacy and advisory work specialising in the areas of administrative law, and taxation and revenue law. Madeline has been involved in significant judicial review litigation (including mineral royalty disputes, review of decisions under the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Act (Cth)), and in merits review of a broad range of Queensland state and federal government decisions.

Madeline has served on committees and boards of schools, hospitals and professional institutions. She served for eight years on the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research before her appointment to the QCA in 2016.

Dr Warren Mundy

Board Member

BSc (Hons UNSW), DipEc(Syd), MPhil PhD(Cantab), GradCertAppFin(Macq) MEnvLaw(Hons, ANU)

Warren is an advisor and company director who has been working with investors, regulators, providers, and users of a wide range of infrastructure services since 2003.

He was a commissioner at the Australian Productivity Commission from 2009 to 2015 and also served as the Australian Competitive Neutrality Commissioner. He has held executive roles in airport companies in Australia and Europe.

At Airservices Australia, he served on the board for more than five years from 2008, including being the deputy chair for over four years. He was also a member of the Steering Committee for the joint NSW and Commonwealth governments’ Sydney Aviation Strategy and continued to advise the Australian Government on Sydney’s second airport until the creation of the company to build the airport. Other roles were as a director of VicForests, EISS Super, the Western Community Legal Centre, the National Health Co-operative, James Watt College of Higher and Further Education and the Airports Operators Association (United Kingdom).

Dr Mundy is currently a Special Advisor to the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association and a director of the Sydney Desalination Plant and of Lumea Pty Limited and Lumea Intermediate Pty Limited.

Fiona Guthrie AM

Board Member

B.A., LL.B and M.B.A

Fiona is the CEO of Way Forward a debt relief charity that provides free support to people to help them manage their debts.

Before joining Way Forward, Fiona was the CEO of Financial Counselling Australia for nearly 15 years.

Fiona has 30 years’ experience in consumer advocacy, including a number of years on the executive of the Consumers Federation of Australia. She first became involved in issues affecting consumers, particularly people on low incomes or in vulnerable circumstances, after volunteering as a financial counsellor at Caxton Legal Centre in Brisbane in 1989.

She has held directorships on Energex Retail, the Insurance Ombudsman Service and the Financial Ombudsman Service and was previously chair of ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel.

Fiona is currently a member of ASIC’s Consultative Panel and a director of consumer advocacy group Choice.

She was a recipient of an Order of Australia in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday honours for significant service to the community through social welfare and financial counselling roles.

Executive team

Our executive team, with their wealth of knowledge and experience, complement the Board and guide the QCA teams to deliver work of a high quality.


photo of Charles

Charles Millsteed

Chief Executive Officer

Charles has broad experience in policy analysis and economic regulation. He commenced his career at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, focusing on energy market analysis and assessing the impacts of trade, investment and climate change policies.

Since 2001, he has worked in the area of energy market regulation in roles at the QCA, Ergon Energy and the Australian Energy Regulator.

Charles joined the QCA in 2010.

 

Photo of Will

William Copeman

Director of Peer Review

William’s diverse experience encompasses roles at Queensland Treasury, Queensland Treasury Corporation and Deloitte Economics.

As Director of Peer Review, his role is to provide accuracy of material and assurance of quality for the Queensland Competition Authority. He has delivered economic regulation, analysis and policy development in both the public and private sector. In particular, William has worked extensively in the Queensland water industry.

William joined the QCA in 2010.

Photo of George

George Passmore

Director of Business Performance

George has nearly 20 years’ experience in economic regulation.

As Director of Business Performance his role involves the monitoring and implementation of regulation across all firms regulated by the QCA.  Prior to this role, George was extensively involved in the economic oversight of water and local government sectors, as well as rail access regulation in the QCA.

George started his career with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics before moving to Queensland and working on sugar industry policy, water sector policy and Queensland’s first review of irrigation water price paths.

George joined the QCA in 2000.

Sharon Ibardolaza

Director of Corporate Services

Sharon brings with her extensive experience in senior and executive roles in the tourism, banking, and local government industries.

As Director of Corporate Services, her role is diverse in managing the provision of a range of corporate services, including governance, financial management, information technology, human resources and corporate administration.

Sharon’s previous roles included business strategy, risk management, corporate and operational planning, cultural change and leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams to deliver major projects.

Sharon joined the QCA in October 2020.